Home
by Bitchii-Usa
Summary: There may be some hope left for Mirai Bulma...


Bulma wasn't sure what to expect when the words left Trunks' mouth, but she certainly wasn't prepared for the aftermath of events that lay sprawled across her patio, bathed in the afternoon glow of a setting sun.

"Any wish you want, Trunks," Whis' face was painted with his natural amused expression, his hand lightly circled around his staff as he stared down at Trunks, "These super dragon balls transcend any power that comes from Earth's dragon balls."

Next to Whis, and not so particularly amused, stood Beerus, his arms folded across his chest, his feline eyes narrowed dangerously. "You should consider yourself lucky that Whis is being so kind to you, considering that we've done more than enough meddling in your illegal affairs." A growl slithered through the god's throat, and Bulma could tell it made Trunks entirely uncomfortable, but he managed to stifle his shudder and nod in reply.

"I'm very grateful, thank you Whis," Trunks spoke so elegantly, a world's difference to her foul mouthed husband and their rambunctious pre teen son, and it made her heart swell with pride. "And you as well Beerus. It's a gift more gracious than Mai or myself could ask for." His eyes slithered towards her slowly, a warmth seeping through his electric blues that were all business only seconds before. "And thank you, Mother. For taking time to find them all. I'm sure that mustn't have been easy. "

 _No,_ Bulma thought immediately, _it wasn't._ While Trunks, Goku and Vegeta were fighting in the apocalyptic future, she had enlisted the help of Piccolo, Gohan, Goten and her own younger Trunks to help locate the super dragon balls. It was overwhelming locating seven otherworldly objects that were far out of her reach, but they had managed to do it in time. She thought they'd be using them for a different reason; she already imagined seeing herself asking to bring back the trio from the dead or the secret to defeating Zamasu. But once again they came through victorious, and she saw nothing more fit than for Trunks to have the wish of the spheres. She smiled at him and nodded. "It was no issue at all Trunks. I'm just glad that you can find some sort of peace in all of this."

"So what're you gonna wish for, Trunks?" Goku leaned back in his chair after polishing off a rack of pork, rubbing his belly satisfyingly. "I bet you wanna bring back your world as if Zamasu never came there, huh?"

Trunks' expression turned grim, and rather serious, and he slowly shook his head. "I thought about that, Goku, but the truth is, our world is _gone_ , and for the sake of the future itself, maybe it's best it stays that way."

Mai reached her hand across the table and found home in Trunks' palm, casting a smile as soft as the lavender in the late sky. "Actually," she looked across the table at the others, "We were discussing staying here. Making a home out of the past, if that's okay with you all."

Bulma's felt her heart spill over with excitement, and she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. "Of course it is! I was kind of hoping that you _would_. "

"Awesome!" The younger Trunks balled his fists and raised them in the air with glee, knocking his chair back as he stood up. "Now we can hang out all the time, Bro!"

Trunks chuckled and nodded. "I won't be too much of a bother, I promise. I still plan on training adequately with everyone and helping out where I can. "

"You'd _better_ keep up with your training," Vegeta interjected, speaking up for the first time since they'd started eating, "If you're going to stay here, I expect that you will be strong enough to handle any foe that comes our way. Or at least give me a more than decent fight."

"Of course, Father."

" _So_ _what're you gonna wish for?!"_ Goku slammed his palms against the table impatiently, his eyebrow raised with anticipation.

"Oh, yes, back to that. Well, although it's great being here with you all, and I even get to see Gohan again in a happier state, there's one person that I would like to see again, if possible."

Bulma's heart raced with the unspoken words, although she had already figured it out before it could leave his mouth. "The future me," she whispered, aching for the pain he must have been feeling all along, "You want her here too."

Trunks nodded, his eyes downcast with embarrassment. "I hope that won't be too strange for you, Mother."

"Nonsense!" She threw her head back and laughed heartedly. " _Two_ Bulmas?! Another me would be so helpful with work. I can only imagine what it would be like to pick her brain."

"Tch," Vegeta rolled his eyes in her direction, folding his arms tightly across his chest, "My head hurts already and she hasn't even gotten here yet. Two Bulmas, indeed!"

She narrowed her eyes towards him but let his comment roll off her skin. After all, this was about Trunks, and while she had her own underlying motives for wanting her future self present, she knew that the joy it would bring him was more important than anything else.

"Is that the final wish?" Whis circled his staff to cut a hole into the sky, another dimension peeking through. Bulma could see the orange glow of the super dragon balls, hidden in whatever galactic realm Whis had hidden them in. "If so I'd like to go ahead and make it. I'm sure you all don't want to deal with Beerus when he's full and cranky and begging for a nap."

" _Absolutely not,_ " Goku unsuccessfully spoke under his breath, earning himself a threatening glare from Beerus. He merely chuckled it off and turned his attention back to Whis.

Trunks nodded, wasting no time in solidifying his decision. Whis smiled and enlarged the portal so that the dragon balls were now in full display, creating an orange cast over the exterior of the patio deck. Whis spoke the words to the orbs, and they glowed magnificently as their familiar magic began to brew. Bulma was prepared for the enormous golden dragon to make its entrance, but she was still enamored by its ethereal presence, the quake of his words shaking the ground even in another dimension.

"Your wish has been granted!"

It happened so fast, she could hardly register what her eyes were seeing. One moment, she was staring into a void of a dimension she couldn't quite comprehend, and the next she was staring into eyes that were the twins of her own, albeit a lot older and a lot more worn for wear.

"Wh-what?" The older Bulma began to lightly touch her face, trying to feel if she was hallucinating or not. Her eyes widened and she slowly glanced around the tables, making brief contact with everyone as she tried to register what was happening. "Wait… I was… Where am… _is that me?!_ "

"Mother!" Trunks' face must have been made of magic, because Bulma swore that she saw his features dramatically decrease in age as he studied her older counterpart. Her gut twisted as tears formed in the base of his eyes, and she had to stop herself from bawling as the future Bulma covered her mouth and drank her son in.

"Trunks! You're alright?! But… Goku Black… our home.. I-I…" She glanced around at her surroundings again as Trunks approached her slowly, his own expression threatening to crack with emotion. "We're in the past, " she said with sudden realization, a short burst of air spilling from her lips.

Trunks nodded, finally close enough to reach out and take her hand. "We did it, Mother. We managed to defeat Goku Black and all."

" _We?_ "

"Yes. Goku, Father and myself. Even Mai was resilient enough to fight him off for awhile. But," Trunks stared to the ground, his nose clenching in a way that was all Vegeta when he was upset about something, "I wasn't able to save our home, our world. It's gone, Mother, and everyone in it. Only Mai and myself escaped, and thanks to the you if this world, we were able to use powerful dragon balls to bring you back here. To live with us."

Future Bulma whipped her head around and immediately locked gaze with her younger self, her eyes confused and elated and dumbfounded at once. It _was_ strange, she deduced, to see herself so much older and so much more accustomed to pain than she herself had been. But if her own son could get used to seeing double, than so could she.

"So this is what peace did to me, I see." She smiled warmly and stood a little more relaxed, a little more like the younger Bulma. "Well it's safe to say that I'm beautiful when I'm not overly stressed out over murderous psychopaths."

"Tch," Bulma chortled, " _You_ stressed out over murderous psychopaths? You got with Vegeta, of all people. I assume you'd be used to it."

Instead of laughing, a thought of recognition swam across the older Bulma's face, her lips parting with anticipation. It was then that Bulma realized just _who_ might have the biggest impact of her future self's sudden arrival. Simultaneously, their eyes drifted to a certain flame haired prince, sitting directly across from his own wife. His eyes seemed to be studying some random cloud in the sky, but from the pinkish tint to his cheeks, Bulma knew he was more than aware where this conversation was going.

Future Bulma only spoke one word, but it was enough to make Bulma's heart shatter completely. " _Vegeta_ ," she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. Bulma could practically taste the sadness that dripped from his name, and she put herself immediately into her shoes. How long had it been since she had last seen Vegeta? More than thirty years? And if she remembered correctly, the Vegeta she last knew was still a prideful prick who cared more about ascension than her or Trunks well being. This Vegeta, while still a perpetrator of asshole tendencies, was everything the both of them could have ever wanted from the Saiyan prince. Either way, if she had to go that long without seeing Vegeta, she would be just as emotional, if not more so.

He made no effort to look her way, and his face seemed to conceal a secret that he refused to reveal, his cheeks growing brighter in their pink tint. What was it about her that had him so embarrassed. It was just _her_ , after all. With annoyance, she kicked him from under the table, eliciting a curse from his breath as he snapped his stare to her. Bulma cleared her throat and pushed her eyebrows together to convey her message: _acknowledge her you idiot!_

Vegeta huffed and glared back at her, but eventually his shoulders dropped and his face smoothened out to that of a polished stone. He slowly brought his attention to his much older wife. He merely nodded, which was as much as Bulma knew he was going to give.

"Vegeta… I haven't seen you since… I mean I know you're not the same as _my_ Vegeta… " Future Bulma's words became choked in the back of her throat, and she cleared it so that she could speak clearly. "I just… I never thought I'd see you again."

Bulma watched as Vegeta shared a look with their older son, that same secret being shared between them, and he brought his eyes back to the future Bulma. "It's okay, Bulma." Such a short sentence, so straight to the point, but Bulma's chest swelled with his words. Bulma was sure that she was the only person in the world to understand Vegeta's affection, especially when it wasn't so direct, and the way he spoke her name just then was full of it. _It's okay, Bulma._ He'd said that to her a few days back while she retched in the toilet, tears staining the sides of her face, a positive pregnancy test on the sink. "Another baby at my age?!" She wailed, her mind going frantic if Vegeta even _wanted_ another child.

But to her relief, he simply placed a heavy palm on her shoulder and said softly, "It's okay, Bulma." She had never felt more love for him than in that moment.

 _It's okay, Bulma._

And she hoped her future counterpart knew the weight behind his words too.

"Hey, Future Bulma, since you're all smart with buildin' things that even _this_ Bulma can't, you think you could build a state of the art training facility? " Goku smiled sincerely. Bulma wanted to punch him.

Vegeta stood and slammed his palms on the table, hunch in over to look hard at Goku. "Hey, Kakarot! Don't think you can just ask Bulma for something like that! If she's going to build it, it'll be for me! "

"Aww don't be selfish Vegeta! You already have a gravity chamber! "

"I'll have as many as I like if Bulma's going to build it!"

"But there's _two_ Bulmas! You don't need to be greedy!"

"Shut up! I'm a Saiyan prince, I'll be whatever I want! Besides, she's still _my_ wife, no matter where she comes from!"

Goku and Vegeta continued their routine of bantering while Bulma chuckled, shaking her head at the melodramatic displays of one upping each other. She looked over to Future Bulma, who was watching them in shock, her cheeks flushed with a baby pink.

"W-wife?" She repeated in a whisper, letting it run over her tongue as if it were a foreign word altogether. Bulma smiled and stood, wanting to join her in that moment. She was used to hearing Vegeta periodically calling her his wife, just as she proudly claimed him as her husband, but _this_ Bulma, who probably spent the last few days with her now deceased Vegeta wondering if his affections were sincerely returned had to be thrown back by the admission.

She placed a hand on her shoulder and future Bulma whipped her head around to her, her eyes still in shock. "He's a completely different man than the one you're used to. Can you believe that marriage wasn't _that_ hard of a topic to discuss with him?"

Future Bulma smiled in return warmly, shaking her head. "When Trunks came back for the first time, he confirmed that Vegeta was still the man that I had to say goodbye to, although he seemed a bit kinder. But never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought…." She tore her eyes away and landed on Vegeta again before looking towards the younger Trunks, who was watching her curiously. She smiled at him and he returned it, waving at her. "You're an incredibly lucky woman, younger me."

" _We're_ lucky, future me." She nodded towards the older Trunks, who was now conversing with his younger self. "In some way or another, we always have a Saiyan looking out for us. If it wasn't for them, if it wasn't for _you_ building the time machine in the first place, we'd have none of this. This wouldn't be home."

"Home," she repeated, taking a look at the people before her in their habitats. Goku and Vegeta in some sort of food competition, Future Trunks showing younger Trunks something with his sword, Mai and her younger self giggling as they watched them. If she had to die in order to live to see this moment, then it was all worth it. She had her son, she had her family, and she had something that she thought she'd never taste again.

Peace.

"I like the sound of that."

OooOooo

 _I'm just full of ideas and wanted to get this out. One thing that will always bother me is how this arc ended. I never wanted Future Trunks to go home in the first place._


End file.
